Background
Pakistan has a rich and vast natural resource base, covering various
ecological and climatic zones; hence the country has great potential for
producing all types of food commodities. Agriculture has an important direct
and indirect role in generating economic growth. The importance of agriculture
to the economy is seen in three ways: first, it provides food to consumers and
fibres for domestic industry; second, it is a source of scarce foreign
exchange earnings; and third, it provides a market for industrial goods.

Land use, farming
systems and institutions
The total geographical area of Pakistan is 79.6 million hectares. About 27
percent of the area is currently under cultivation. Of this area, 80 percent
is irrigated. In this regard, Pakistan has one of the highest proportions of
irrigated cropped area in the world. The cultivable waste lands offering good
possibilities of crop production amount to 8.9 million hectares. Growth in
cropped area is very impressive: from 11.6 million hectares in 1947 to 22.6
million hectares in 1997.

Most of Pakistan is classified as arid to semi-arid because rainfall is not
sufficient to grow agricultural crops, forest and fruit plants and pastures.
About 68 percent of the geographical area has annual rainfall of 250 mm,
whereas about 24 percent has annual rainfall of 251 to 500 mm. Only 8 percent
of the geographical area has annual rainfall exceeding 500 mm. Thus
supplemental water is required for profitable agricultural production, either
from irrigation or through water harvesting.

Agriculture is largely dependent on artificial means of irrigation. Of the
total cultivated area, about 82 percent or around 17.58 million hectares is
irrigated, while crop production in the remaining 3.96 million hectares
depends mainly upon rainfall. The Irrigation Canal Command Area (CCA) has been
grouped into classes on the basis of the nature and severity of its
limitations water logging, salinity, sodicity and texture. At present about
one-fifth of the cultivated land in CCA is affected by water logging and
salinity to varying degrees. An additional area of 2.8 million hectares
suffers from sodicity. Notwithstanding huge investments, the water table
was 0 to 1.5 m under 2.2 million hectares of irrigated land, 1.5 to 3 m under
6 million hectares and 0to 3 m under 8 million hectares. Thus Pakistan needs
to overhaul its entire drainage and reclamation strategy reduce its cost and
make it efficient.

Significance of
the agricultural sector in the economy

Agriculture is an important sector, providing food to the fast-growing
population of the country. According the 1998 census, the total population of
Pakistan is 130 million. With a population growth rate of 2.6 percent there is
a net addition of 3.4 million people each year. In 1947 the population of
Pakistan was 32.5 million; in 50 years it has increased fourfold. During this
period the production of wheat, the major food crop, has increased only 2.9
fold. During 1970/71 the amount of wheat imported was 0.3 million tonnes; it
has
increased to 4.1 million tonnes in 1997. Tremendous efforts have been carried
out to narrow the gap between population growth and food production.

Agriculture contributes about 24 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP)
and employs 47 percent of the national employed labour force. The contribution
of the agricultural sector to the GDP has declined gradually since Pakistan
came into existence, from over 50 percent in 1949-50 to about 24 percent in
1996-97. Agriculture still remains the major sector of the GDP composition. A
major part of the economy depends on farming through production, processing
and distribution of major agricultural commodities.

In foreign trade agriculture again dominates, through exports of raw products
such as rice and cotton and semi-processed and processed products such as
cotton yarn, cloth, carpets and leather production .Agriculture is essential
for sustainable improvements in internal and external balances. Of the total
export earnings, the share of primary commodities and processed and
semi-processed products constituted
almost 60 percent of the total exports. There have been some structural
changes over time, but the contribution of agro-based products has more or
less sustained its position.

The average annual growth rates in the agricultural sector during the 1960s,
1970s and 1980s were 5.07, 2.37 and 5.4 percent, respectively. With the
announcement of a new agriculture package by the government in April 1997, the
growth rate during 1997/98 has improved to 5.9 percent.

More specifically; the agricultural sector plays an important part in
Pakistan's economy by:

•
contributing 24 percent towards GDP;

• providing food to about 130 million people;

•
earning about 60 percent of the country's total export earnings;

•
providing employment to 47 percent of the total work force;

•
providing the main source of livelihood for the rural population of Pakistan;

• providing raw materials for many industries and a
market for many locally produced industrial products.

Overview of
agricultural sector development

Significant progress has been made in development of the agricultural sector
in Pakistan since the time of independence in 1947. At that time, the Indus
Basin was irrigated with an extensive system of canal irrigation, sown with
low-yielding traditional seed varieties, fertilized mainly with animal manure
and cultivated by means of animal draught power and by hand.

In the early 1960s, conditions that favoured more
rapid growth were put in place: the Indus Wate
Agreement was signed under the chairing of the World Bank; the Indus Basin
Development Fund w<
established with multidonor support; government improved the terms of
agricultural trade; and tubewe
were installed as a viable investment. That decade witnessed a green
revolution in Pakistan, and crc
production accelerated during the first part of the decade, primarily because
of the increased use of inputs.

Pakistan's agriculture has made a long and difficult journey. Its performance
is marked by a mixed trend. There have been some years of dismal growth
and some years of cruising growth. Since 1980, agricultural GDP at constant
factor cost has more than doubled, increasing from Rs 76 billion in 1980 to
more than Rs 141 billion in 1996/97, with a steady growth rate of 3.91 percent
annually. Agriculture's share of total GDP however, declined from about
31 percent to just 24 percent over the same period. Crop production
contributed the largest share of agricultural GDP (62 percent in 1996). with
livestock contributing 34 percent and fisheries and forestry the remaining 4
percent.

During the past 50 years a significant increase in production of the major
crops has been achieved. Wheat production rose from 3.3 million tonnes
in 1950/51 to 18.6 million tonnes in 1997/98. Similarly during this period
rice production rose from 0.86 million tonnes to 4.32 million tonnes. There
was also a records increase in cereal production. The production of cotton
reached 9.4 million bales during 1996/97.Sugarcane production reached 5.3
million tonnes during 1997/98.

Policy measures in the last four years, i.e. from 1993/94 to 1996/97, were
positive for the agricultural sector. Undue benefits provided to the
industrial sector over the years were reviewed and modified. The agricultural
sector as a result responded with new buoyancy. Export taxes on agricultural
commodities were reduced or eliminated, which benefited the agricultural
sector. In the policy reforms package, better support prices, better tillage
and soil preparation practices and adequate and timely availability of
fertilizer and certified seed have added to the positive response from the
farming community. In 1996/97, production of wheat reached a level of 16.7
million tonnes, and there was also a 13.7 percent increase in the production
of Basmati rice. The overall production of rice registered an increase of 8.5
percent - the total production of rice during the year was 4.3 million tonnes,
compared with 3.97 million tonnes in the previous year.

There was, however, a decrease in the production of pulses, particularly of
gram, during 1996/97 to 832 000 tonnes from 918 000 tonnes during the previous
year (1995/96). Production of potatoes and onions in 1997/98 is estimated at 1
205 000 and 1 160 000 tonnes respectively, as compared with 963 000 and 1131
000 tonnes in 1996/97.

Over the past 20 years some important structural changes have taken place in
the sector. In particular, livestock has emerged as an important subsector,
today contributing more than one-third of agricultural GDP, compared with
about 28 percent 20 years ago. Similarly, fisheries and forestry, while still
minor contributors to agricultural GDP, have grown rapidly. Structural changes
have also taken place within the crop sector. Cotton is now as important as
wheat in terms of value added with a one-fifth share of total earnings. Rice
and sugar have, however, fallen from a 20 percent share in the early 1970s to
15 percent today.Food and agriculture organization of the
united nation
October .1998